WHEAT. 



perfeftly refembled grains of wheat, and which on being 

 fown in a garden very unexpeftedly proved to be wheat of 

 the fpring kind, and the ufual fize, the grains of which 

 being nearly, if not wholly, as large as thofe of the ordinary 

 wheat of the above fort, that the packet and feeds came 

 cither from the peninfula, or from the hilly country, far 

 within land from Bengal, as that province itfelf is a flat al- 

 luvial tradl of land, entirely level. That as this hill wheat 

 is, however, no doubt, it is fuppofed, known to fome pcr- 

 fons who are now either in India, or who have lately re- 

 turned from thence into this country, it is certainly a matter 

 of fome importance to know what information they can give 

 on the fubjeft of it, efpecially whether this wheat be a cul- 

 tivated, or a wild plant ; as we fliall, it is faid, if the latter 

 be the cafe, afcertain two of the greateft deliderata of cul- 

 tivators ; as thofe of the country where wheat grows fpon- 

 taneoufly, and the nature of the grain in its original ftate, 

 vrhen unaffifted by the foftering hand of man. 



It is by no means improbable, from the nature and habits 

 of wheat, that it may have come originally from the hilly 

 country of the eafl:, and been rendered hardy by time and 

 cultivation in this and moft other parts of the world. 



Wheat is a kind of grain of which there are two dif- 

 ferent fpecies, in cultivation as crops, in the climate of this 

 country ; as the common /moot /i or polled v/heRt, and the cone 

 rough or bearded wheat. Of the firft of thefe forts, which 

 is by much the moft cultivated in this kingdom, as being 

 the moft fuited to the nature and quality of the largeft 

 extent of the foils or lands in it, and as affording the fineft 

 kind of flour, there are numerous varieties that arc dif- 

 ferently preferred in different fituations; and the latter 

 fpecies, which is often termed rivet wheat, and which has 

 alfo feveral varieties that differ little except in the colour of 

 the chaff aad the form of the ears, though it does not afford 

 the iinett fort of flour, as yielding the largeft quantity of 

 produce on ftiff moift clayey lands, and as being lefs fubjeft 

 to injury and difeafe from wetnefs on fuch foils, as well as 

 lefs liable to lodge from its firmnefs of ftem, is frequently 

 cultivated and grown on fuch forts of land. 



It has been obfcrved by an able and intelligent cultivator 

 in the county of Kent, Mr. Boys, that the number of forts 

 of this grain is annually increafing by importation from 

 foreign countries. But that the old forts are the brown and 

 yellow lammas, the luhite Jlraiu, Fulham, and the luhlte or 

 egg-Jhell. That the brown lammas was the kind chiefly cul- 

 tivated in that county till within thefe twenty or thirty years ; 

 but that it has now given way to a variety of new kinds, as 

 well as fome of the other old forts : experiment has, however, 

 Ihewn it to be the leaft productive of the feveral forts. It 

 is the common browti-Jlrawed wheat that grows with a long 

 jointed ear, the cliaff of a dark brown colour, the ftraw 

 long and apt to fall, the hull or bran thin, the flour very 

 white, and the corn mellow in grinding, for which reafon it 

 is efteenied by the millers as the beft of the old forts for 

 their ufe ; and that the yellow lammas refembles the brown, 

 in every refpeft, except that the colour of the grain is of a 

 yellow hue, and the chaff of a fomewhat lighter colour 

 than the others. A red lammas with a red ftraw, red ear, 

 and red kernel, is noticed by Young as being reckoned by 

 many farmers the beft of all the forts hitherto known, as 

 yielding the fineft and whiteft flour. The firft of thefe 

 writers ftates, that the wh'itejlranved wheat takes its name 

 from the colour of its ear, and in other counties has the title 

 of the Kentijh luhite Jlraiu. That it fends out a greater 

 number of ttems from the ftool or plant than the other forts, 

 and in that way is often a very thick crop on the land. That 

 the ftraw is generally fomewhat ftiorter than that of many 



other forts, and not quite fo liable to fall in rainy feafons. 

 That it is on thefe accounts much fown in the eaftern parts 

 of that county ; but that from its dull colour, its having a 

 thick bran, and often grinding very fteely, it is not much 

 approved by the millers of the diftrift. It is remarked, 

 that the Fulham fort produces a white ftraw, wl\ich grows 

 ftiort and coarfe ; but that it is very produftive, particularly 

 on poor land : the grain is however coarfe, and the bran 

 thick, which circumftances render it the leaft valuable to 

 the millers of any of the forts defcnbed above. And that 

 the white or egg-Jliell wheat is known by its producing a 

 white ftraw, a fmooth white chaff, and very white grain : 

 the bran of which is very thick, but the flour remarkably 

 white. It works mellow in grinding, is very early ripe, and 

 fo free in the ear as to blow out in wmdy weather, which is a 

 difadtfantage. 



It is noticed, that of the new forts of wheat in that 

 county, as the hoary white, the nonpareil, the pilbeam, the 

 fquare ear, the hoary brown, and the hoary white, called by 

 iome the velvet-eared, the laft is by far the moft valuable, as 

 being very produdlive, and the beft for the miller's ufe. It 

 has the ftraw white and fliort, the chaff covered with a 

 thick fine down, fomewhat of a brownifli hue ; the grain 

 remarkably fmall, and of a dull white colour, the bran very 

 thin, fo that the grain in fome cafes is almoft tranfparerft 

 when held up to the light. It grinds very mellow, and 

 makes a beautiful fine white flour. But from the quantity 

 of the down upon the chaff, and its fmall ears binding up 

 very clofe in the flieaf, it is apt in a rainy feafon to vegetate 

 too freely in the field ; on which account it is not fo proper 

 to cultivate in a moift climate, and in fmall inclofures that 

 are not open to the influence of the fun and winds. That 

 the nonpareil is a fort faid to have been brought into this 

 country from America : it has a bright ftraw, with a brown 

 ear ; and the grain is very white, large, and plump. It is 

 very produftive on all foils, thrafties very free, and yields in 

 that operation the greater part of its chaff; thereby pro- 

 ducing a great quantity of horfe-meat. It grinds very mel- 

 low, and is well efteemed by the millers in moft diftrifts. 

 And that the pilbeam is a brown wheat growing very ftiff, 

 and is generally thick on the land. The grain is fmall and 

 plump, fomewhat of a yellow-brown. It is accounted very 

 produftive on rich lands, and is a valuable kind to mix with 

 others, but will not of itfelf make good bread, from its not 

 fermenting or working properly in that operation. In re- 

 gard to the fquare-eared wheat, that it is a very produftive 

 fort, but is apt to drop out in the field, before it is ripe, and 

 in gales of wind, on which account it is not fo much culti- 

 vated. And that the hoary brown is but lately introduced, 

 confequently little known at prefent. And the hoary white 

 fort, which has a white ftraw, ear, and grain, is in much 

 the fame fituation. That the Clarke-wheat, which has a 

 red bloffom, chaff, and ftraw, but white grain, is much 

 cultivated in Suflex. That the hedge wheat is alfo white 

 and very produftive. And that the velvet wheat is diftinft 

 from the hoary white, but is white, not weighty, yet afford- 

 ing much flour, being very thin in the fl<in. 



There are alfo different varieties of cone or bearded 

 wheat, a fort which is named from the form of the ear, as 

 has been feen above. That of the rivet wheat, there are 

 two forts, the white and the brown, neither of which are 

 much cultivated in Kent. They both ripen late in the fea- 

 fon, and are fo coarfe and fteely, as to be unfit for making 

 bread, unlefs mixed with a large proportion of a better fort 

 of flour. They, however, produce very abundant crops on 

 ftrong wet lands, as has been noticed. It is remarked, too, 

 by Mr. Young, to be a produdive fort on very poor, wet, 

 X X J cold 



